Sorry, I should be been clearer. The only source of light was what was streaming in from the secret door - so when everyone reached the floor, the crypts obscured people from seeing the bottom of the back wall. Additionally, those without darkvision would have also seen several shadows on the back wall as well. Hopefully that clarifies the situation. Luckily, it's not vital to this encounter.

Bjorn opens the first casket (#1) on the west wall, and finds it completely empty. In fact, it appears as if it has never been used.

Korvus and Maximus move toward the first casket (#5) on the east wall, and begin inspecting it.

The light from Alexei's shield brightens the crypt significantly.

Korvus, Maximus:

Both of you notice something strange about the rear wall where it connects to the east wall. The corner, where the two walls meet, seems askew somehow, as if the walls don't quite line up correctly.

Harold scratches his head before putting his hat back in place as he makes his was back to the rear wall of the crypt. The half-orc begins to tap on the stone as he pushes at random spots to see if anything gives or denotes a hollow wall, "Might'er found sum'in o'erhere. Bi' o' the odd angle n' such."

Bjorn pulls the other lid aside... to find exactly the same thing as he did before - a vacant sarcophagus.

Harold moves to the corner of the room and begins inspecting the intersection of the walls. He taps and pushes on various stones, until when he adjusts to hit one stone near the corner, his hand disappears from sight into the wall. He pulls it back in surprise, then tests it again. Although the image of the wall remains, it does not really exist.

A section of the wall at the rear of the room is actually an illusion masking a narrow passage sloping downward leading away from the tomb. The passage is apparently a smooth natural cave that winds away deeper into the earth.

Congrats, finding that secret door pushed everyone to Level 2! I'm fine with either rolling or half+1 for HP, your choice. Let me know if there are any other questions.

Alexei smiles briefly, before holding his shield out in front of him and following after Bjorn, but not before nodding at the two half-orcs. "This looks to be exactly the kind of thing we needed to find. Good work, Harold, Korvus."

Maybe I should cast Light on Bjorn's shield, too? Since he'll be leading the way and such.

Alexei nods at the Ulfen man, a small smile on his face. "Figured you'd appreciate some light in this darkness, too." He goes back to trying to keep an eye out for anything of note in the passageway as they move inwards.

The cavern twists and turns as it leads down, but it opens up after several hundred feet to a roughly circular space. The ceiling is around twenty feet high, and the cave is about forty feet in diameter. The space is lit with an eerie green light coming from runes on a large stone sarcophagus resting at an angle on a stone bier. This was obviously crafted, but it appears to be the only part of this cavern that is not natural.

The runes on the sarcophagus are carved in a way that indicate some kind of message...

Celestial and/or Abyssal:

Speak Her name, O humble one, lest She withhold her judgement and cast ye into the void.

The sarcophagus silently opens to reveal a suit of heavily decorated plate mail armor. A massive two-handed sword rests beside the armor. As you watch, the armor creaks and twists, and the helmet turns its visor toward Korvus. The armor slowly begins to sit up, then continues moving as if to stand - one hand grasping the side of the sarcophagus, the other reaching for the sword.

You can easily see that nobody inhabits the armor - the suit is completely empty.

Knowledge (religion) DC 10:

The holy symbol of Pharasma is etched into the breastplate of the armor.

Korvus:

You note a feeling of peace around you, and your spirit is lifted You are affected as if under a bless spell for the next hour.

"זה לא נראה טוב! כי מותו של סמל על החזה שלה!" The oracle's shout in a foreign tongue is sharp and worried. Alexei begins to chant softly while gesturing, his right hand beginning to emit a pale blue light, before placing the hand on his chest. "אלוהים תן לי כוח." This finished, he turns all his attention to the animated suit of armor.

Celestial 1:

"That doesn't look good at all! That's Pharasma's symbol on its chest!"

Harold reaches into his pockets as he slips on Pain and Suffering but keeps his hands concealed in his jacket. The half-orc grunts as the armor starts to rise as he glances toward the holy man and Korvus, "Tha' speeretual er some magi's pl'ytoy?"

The suit of armor slowly rises to its full height, standing nearly eight feet tall. It remains standing for several seconds before suddenly raising the six-foot long blade and assuming a combat stance. A blue light begins shining through the visor, and it turns its head to regard each of you.

As it looks upon Korvus, the sword lowers and the armor relaxes its stance. A deep voice echoes from inside the armor.

Celestial:

"Rise, faithful. Enter and receive your reward."

It raises its right arm, and points toward the sarcophagus.

Korvus:

This animated suit of armor is like nothing you have encountered, heard about, or read about. In fact, the way it is behaving seems to indicate it may not actually be a construct.[/ooc]

-----

Keep your initiatives, but the armor does not appear to pose an immediate threat so I'm not going to put everyone into combat rounds just yet.

Alexei pauses, realizing the armor doesn't seem like it's going to attack them, but maintains his stance, hand resting on the grip of his morningstar. He glances to the others, an unsure look in his eyes.

Korvus rises to his feet and bows respectfully to the animated suit of armor.

"I suspect this to be some type of divine servant of Pharasma. You can see her holy symbol etched on its breastplate. It is bidding me to enter the sarcophagus to receive a reward for having shown respect for the Lady of Graves. Please do not attack it," Korvus says, his voice calm as he moves to enter the sarcophagus as directed.

Everyone watches as Korvus enters the sarcophagus. As he lies down, the lid slides shut.

The armor places its sword point down and places both hands on the pommel. Its helm "faces" the sarcophagus.

Korvus:

The sarcophagus easily contains your physique, and you surprisingly note that it is somewhat comfortable. After a few seconds, a female voice interrupts your thoughts, "Hello... Korvus. I am the guardian spirit that watches over this crypt, and it is I who control the suit of armor that greeted you. I was told of you, and that you may seek to find this crypt - only a few tools remain in my vault, but they are yours for the taking."

"I also have a... request. After you remove the tools from the vault, my task will be finished. There is nothing more for me to watch over here, and I would prefer not to spend eternity watching over an empty crypt. I would ask that you find another task for me. It is not incumbent upon you to accept this charge, but if you are truly one of the individuals Professor Lorrimor spoke of, I hope you will hear my plea."

"It would be my honor to assist you, oh loyal and diligent guardian," Korvus responds to the spirit. "But in order for me to help you find another charge, it would help me to know more about you. As a guardian spirit, must you be bound to a specific location? A specific object? Or could you be tasked to guard a person, and travel about with them? And how did you come to know Professor Lorrimor?"

"Being bound to a location is preferable, but I could be bound to an object or living being. In those cases, my ... presence ... would travel with them, within reason. I assume there would be some magical wards would prevent my travel, and I do not know what would happen in that case. The link may simply be suppressed, or it may be severed."

"If you are willing to help me though, I am willing to assume guardianship over an item or person - anything to avoid eternity guarding an empty vault in a forgotten tomb."

"As for how I knew the Professor... He visited me several weeks ago. We spent time speaking, and he mentioned his plans for investigating a large haunted area south of Ravengro. He asked for some of the tools kept here, but asked me to continue protecting the remaining items for either his return, or your arrival."

Kendra looks around, then walks up behind Alexei. In a low voice, "So are you sure it's a guardian of Pharasma? I mean, couldn't it just have that symbol on the armor?"

Alexei whispers back to the woman, "It spoke of her, and responded favorably to Korvus calling her name. I would be quite hard-pressed to claim I did not believe it is a servant of the Lady of Graves."

That the Professor trusted you with such a task tells me that I should trust you as well," Korvus replies to the spirit.

"Would I be correct in guessing that those who originally bound you here were the priests of Pharasma who originally hid the cache of tools that you mentioned? If I may ask, what are you called? What type of being are you? How long have you been bound here? What are your abilities? Where-" Korvus pauses with a rather abashed expression. "Please forgive my academic curiosity and enthusiasm. The question of most immediate importance is to decide what you will do next now that the vault you've guarded is empty. I must say that I believe the most appropriate task would be to guard the good Professor's most valued treasure - his daughter, Kendra. To be honest I must admit that I find that I have grown most fond of her in these past few days as well, and I shudder at the thought of her coming to harm from those who killed her father. However, she is extremely independent and likely would not appreciate my making such a decision for her. If I asked you to assume guardianship over me for now, would it be possible for me to transfer your service to the Lady Kendra at a later date, if that would be acceptable to her and to you?"

Kendra thinks for a second, "So, we shouldn't be concerned that it's out here, between us and Korvus, who is now locked inside a stone sarcophagus? I don't know, it just seems strange to me..."

"Or maybe I'm just not that trusting."

She frowns, continues to keep her hands on the hilts of her daggers, but keeps her thoughts to herself.

Alexei's eyes stay trained on the currently docile guardian. "I said no such thing. Merely that it is what it is. And that is why we should keep our guard up, at least until Korvus is returned to us safely."

"You are exactly as the Professor described... I will answer your questions as well as I am able. I do not have a name as you understand it, suffice to say I have always been known as The Guardian to those who addressed me. And you are correct in your assumption - priests of Pharasma summoned my presence and entreated me to aid them. Or it may be more accurate to say they prayed to Pharasma, and I appeared to them in response."

"I do not truly know what I am, only that I exist, and I have been bound here for over 200 years. As for my abilities, I am able to control things after bonding with them, such as the armor in the crypt. I can also speak to people, either audibly or inside their minds. I can also control the forces of magic to protect my charge."

"As far as I know, there is no limit to the number of times I can be charged to guard something, or someone, and I have no preference for one thing over another. But as far as I know, the ritual of transference does require prayers from a devotee of Pharasma."

Kendra looks sideways at Alexei, trying to determine if he is making sport of her or not. Sighing in a huffing breath, she puts her hands on her hips and walks toward the armor, stopping about ten feet away, and starts craning her neck to peer at it.

Kendra breaks out in laughter, doubling over. She finally stands again, grinning from ear to ear, and in a mock-serious voice she addresses the Ulfen man, "Master Bjorn Stonehand, how dare you! I'll have you know I'm a proper lady, and those type of questions are just out of line!"

Harold releases his grip on his brass knuckles and takes up a spot near the exit while leaning against one of the walls. The half-orc lets out a loud laugh at Bjorn's joke, "Careful, Bjorn. Teach da young lass aaahr crude manners an' next fn' yew know she'll be belchin' while singin' bawdy drinkin' songs atop a bar coun'er. I once knew dis sweet little fng, legs what wen' on fawerver an' a marvelous big bos - er smile what just li' up da room. I fnk she started off some merchant's daughter but by da gods she knew 'ow ter en'ertain a common room as a bar wench."

"My companions and I are preparing to follow in the Professor's footsteps and investigate the haunted prison to the south of Ravengro. Your presence and assistance - in addition to the tools that you guard - would be quite welcome in our endeavor. I would be most honored if you wish to serve as my guardian during our investigation," Korvus replies to the spirit.

"Although..." he adds as another thought occurs to him. "There is a small temple dedicated to the Lady of Graves in Ravengro. Would you prefer to serve as guardian there?"